Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
In this genre-bending tale, Errol Morris explores the mysterious death of a U.S. scientist entangled in a secret Cold War program known as MK-Ultra.
Wormwood is a singularly distinctive work from Errol Morris that blends documentary and dramatic reenactment in a deeply unconventional way. The MK-Ultra story surrounding Frank Olson's mysterious death is compellingly structured, unfolding like a paranoid thriller with real stakes. Morris's visual style — fragmented, layered, referential to classic cinema — is genuinely exceptional cinematography for a documentary. The hybrid form itself is highly novel, using scripted dramatic sequences alongside talking-head interviews to create something few documentaries attempt with this ambition. The ending, while thematically resonant in its unresolved grief and systemic government opacity, doesn't deliver full dramatic catharsis, leaving some audiences frustrated by the inherent inconclusiveness of the historical record. Acting in the dramatic sequences (with Peter Sarsgaard as Frank Olson) is solid but uneven. Overall a landmark piece of non-fiction filmmaking that justifies its 6-part runtime.